Tag: Legal

Another gun crime – Killing in Kansas

~ Venki ~ Leave a comment

Many of you would have come across this story of  Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian engineer who was shot dead in Kansas, US. For people who haven’t here are some of the links to go through.

LA Times
CNN – Widow of the victim speaking
Quartz
Reuters

Before I start, let me tell you that I have nothing but utmost sympathies for the family of the victim and tremendous respect for people who tried to prevent this incident. However, my view on the nature of the issue is slight different.

Adam Purinton, the perpetrator is a 51 year old Navy veteran. I have deliberately ignored his race as I deem it unimportant. I have probably lost half of you now, but continue on if you want to understand the systemic issue underneath. Here are my 4 major reasons for this crime according to me.

  1. He is a Navy veteran, who has been indoctrinated to think in a way
  2. Think of his economic situation
  3. Support for ex-service people
  4. The seriously dumb gun laws

Long back I worked with an army veteran from India. In a casual chat, I could realise his deep rooted hatred for people from Pakistan. He wasn’t able to think beyond his biases to feel the people from the other side of the border have equal needs and wants as him. That brought me to another realisation, it is not possible for him to wage a war with those people if he starts empathising with their situation. I can’t essentially shoot a person down if I start feeling for his family. To take someone’s life for an ideology needs one to be indoctrinated deeply in its favour. There cannot be a moral predicament in a situation of need. Imagine such a person with strong faith in certain ideologies getting hold of weapons. The situation is bound to get out of control soon. The accused in this instance, Adam is one such. He has been trained to attack people of a certain skin tone or religion or both. He was fighting wars against them. All of a sudden, he starts seeing them in his midst and he has weapons. How does that work?

It is easy to attribute every violent behaviour by white people as racist. Racism in most instances is the facade or in some instances is the trigger. I do not believe that Adam has insulted every non-white he has met till date. He is probably facing the same economic turmoil as most dwindling US middle class. The bottom 60% of the society has been ignored for decades and the pent-up grievances are showing up as anger.  Adam has probably seen the US economy move from something that worked for him to something that will never work for him. He finds people whom he has classified as outsiders (as discussed above) living a decent life. How does he act?

The United States of America has been fighting wars for decades now. I can’t remember a time when they were not in war, with a country. What happens to all these war veterans when they go back. It is economically impossible to wage a war continuously and provide the necessary support for the veterans. People who have fought a war, need lot of mental and economic support. If they are not provided, then they are left to act on their instincts, which is most instances is actually quite depressing. Again in this instance, we have a veteran, with a gun, not in the best spirits looking at a person whom he has been taught to kill.  What does he think?

Why is the US congress unable to look at the need for gun control? What is the fascination in holding a gun? Kids shooting in schools, depressed men shooting women, terrorists shooting innocents, random shootings and list goes on. It is time for people to mature and look at the calendar to realise that we are in 2017 and not 1700s. There is no need for common people to have a weapon. If someone needs it, then they can loan it for a purpose e.g. I want to scare animals from my farm etc.

Connecting the dots, you have got a ex-Navy person, who has been indoctrinated to kill brown people or a certain religion, in deep economic crisis, looking at people looking similar to people he killed doing well, has no support from the government and has access to guns. It is the gross failure on the part of the US government which has engaged in series of wars and hasn’t done enough for the veterans or have good gun control laws. Yes, the perpetrator should be brought to justice but so should the system which has failed Srinivas and countless other innocents.

Again, it is sad that we have lost a life and it is worse for that family. As rational people, we need to think through the problem. I do agree that apart from my reasons, there have been lot of other instigators and reasons for this incident. However, unless these systemic risks are addressed, people will be addressing the symptom and not the issue.

Dire need for a legal revolution in India

~ Venki ~ Leave a comment

There are some meta-issues which bother me on the Indian Legal System.

  1. Protection of witness
  2. Difference between legal and perceived moral correctness
  3. Process delays
  4. Human Rights intervention
  5. Intensity of the punishment

1. Protection of witness

What prevents the common man from helping victims on the street?

It is extremely disturbing to see eve teasers get away as no one in the crowd is willing to fight the culprit. Accident victims are left dying on the streets as onlookers look at them with utter disdain. At the outset the reasons for all this could be

  • Total apathy towards fellow people
  • Fear of getting hurt
  • Too busy with work
  • There is a population crisis, so a few less will not hurt

While all these could be plausible reasons, the one that I feel runs as a common theme is the legal complexity.

Duration of the legal process

It takes years for a case to be completed in India. There are cases abandoned as the witness, victim and perpetrator have all died a ‘natural death’. With cases taking so long, the witness have absolutely no interest in being part of the legal process. Their general movement across the globe gets inhibited due the legal proceedings.

Treating witness like criminals

Invariably the witnesses are treated like criminals. The person who is willing to help an accident victim by taking she/he to a hospital for treatment, will have to sign a crazy number of documents before the treatment starts. They are forced to be part of the interrogation and investigation done by the cops which turns out to be a hassle.

Lack of protection

In most circumstances, the perpetrator is more powerful than the witness. The investigation does not protect the identity of the witness. This leaves the witness to protect oneself. With their security and existence under threat no person will be willing to risk by protecting others.

If this situation is not corrected, the number of correct judgements will go lesser with time. Judges need witnesses and witnesses need protection. It is an open and shut case.

2.  Difference between legal and perceived moral correctness

There is a big difference between legal correctness and what different communities perceive to be moral correctness. I fear the latter seems to drive the former. It is illegal to run a brothel, however it is legal for two consenting adults to be in a relationship. I fear our cops can’t distinguish between the two.

Civil code cannot be based on the religion I choose. It is really atrocious to know that my actions are treated differently based on my religion. This is plain stupid and not sensitive. No nation can be truly secular if they adapt themselves to different religious believes.

LGBT rights cannot be driven by the perception of different religious communities. Legal system has to take a scientific approach here and not one based on sentiments.

3. Process delays

The legal system in India is many situations behave like lobbyists of the rich. It doesn’t take a cop more than 10 minutes to put a petty thief behind the bars. If the same has to be done for a bureaucrat who misappropriated millions, the process takes weeks if not months and in some cases years. One cannot blame the executive body alone here. When legislators turn corrupt, executors and judiciary are reduced to puppets.

The process delays and inefficiencies continue all the way closure. The loop holes are so many that the rich and famous always have a way to walk through the open cracks. With so much delay in the process, the victim is forced to think on using legal route. Legal action has to be quick and correct. If they don’t go hand in hand, find a way out.

4. Human Rights Intervention

I can’t understand the intervention of human rights with judgement. What makes one think that a minor rapist or a serial killer needs to be provided an opportunity to transform? Why is capital punishment so difficult to accept? If it is because of the mistakes made, then we need to correct that and not the punishment as such. I am not a big fan of frivilous use of capital punishment or torture, however I don’t think the way human rights activism which happens in certain countries is right. In India especially, it is mostly a leisure activity for elite or driven by faith. The human rights activists in India are taking a western solution to the ghastly Indian cultural issues.

The human rights activists in India has a way to gain fame by protesting for criminals and not against the crime.

5. Intensity of the punishment

Punishments should serve a purpose of the society. I recently read about a case, where a young girl was killed by a motorist, racing in one of the main roads of Chennai. Most people in and around this arterial road of Chennai knew about the illegal races being conducted. Cops were repeatedly informed but no action was taken. Now that the accident has taken place, these races were halted for a brief while. The maximum punishment in such cases in 1 – 2 years, if convicted.

A meager punishment can neither serve as a deterrent nor as a eliminator. A minor rapist if proven guilty after years of trial is given 9 years. A deliberate violations of traffic rule which results in an accident are let off with a fine. A culpable homicide is given 2 – 3 years sometimes. Terrorist and mass murderers are protected and given security.  What is going to deter a thief from continuing his activities if he knows the maximum punishment he will get is 6 months of imprisonment with all facilities provided? It also provides him with a more than outside chance of joining politics in the future. Crime seems to be the way to go for people.

The need of the hour is to eliminate the scum of the society. If the punishment for some of the more severe crimes like rape, harassment, homicide, terrorism etc are instantaneous, ruthless and deadly then it leaves more room for comparatively lesser crimes to get more stringent punishments.

The legal system currently is in a state of paralysis. There are a few cases which stir up some hope, but they are rare and out of common man’s reach. There is a dire need to revamp the complete legal framework. The current penal code has obvious flaws which cannot be plugged. The country needs to invest time into building a judicial structure and legal framework which is accessible, quick, honest and honest.